Planning a Gorilla Trek in Uganda: Important Things to consider

Planning a great 2018 gorilla trek in Uganda can be done perfectly using an influential tour company. In Uganda, gorilla tracking can only either be done in Bwindi impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. However, the mountain gorilla family in Mgahinga is very mobile criss crossing borders into Rwanda and this literary leaves Bwindi to be the only place to reliably track the mountain gorillas in Uganda.

In order to track the gorillas, you must have a pre booked gorilla tracking permit. Since the gorilla parks are located far away from the airport, you will need transport to reach the park. The drive from Kampala/Entebbe to Bwindi takes about 9 hours. This means that if you are tracking the gorillas in Uganda you will need at least 3 days to the gorilla trek. One day is for traveling to the park, another day tracking the gorillas and the third day driving back to Kampala/ Entebbe.

In order to book a gorilla safari trek, you will need to either contact the relevant country agency to book the gorilla permit or book the permits through a local tour company like us. Please note that gorilla wildlife Authority for Uganda or book the permits through a local tour agency like us. Also note that gorilla permits are only confirmed by paying for them in full. So, you will need to send money for the permits in full to get your confirmation and ensure that you take care of the bank charges involved to avoid disappointment.

If you are hoping to travel in July and August 2018, be aware that most days are actually sold out and you may not be able to get the gorilla permit for the day’s period you wish to travel. There is however some gorilla permits cancellations. These permits are not at UWA but with the local tour agents. We can assist our clients to get such permits when contacted. However, for the rest of the year, there are still plenty of spaces so you can confidently contact us now to book your space there.

In case you arrange the gorilla permit on your own, please ensure that you pick it from the booking office in Kampala before travelling to Bwindi. You must present your gorilla permit and passport on the gorilla tracking day to be allowed on the gorilla trek. If your permit is booked through a tour agent and you are taking the tour with them, you may not necessarily need to think about getting the permit before traveling to Bwindi.

About planning your transport to gorilla trekking in Rwanda and in Uganda. You will require a 4×4 vehicle to go to the gorillas in Bwindi. You need a 4×4 vehicle to pass the rough pot holed roads which often get tourists stuck for many hours during the rainy seasons. You may be able to hire a vehicle for $100 per day excluding the fuel but including the driver costs. In Uganda’s case, the gorillas and wildlife safaris offers transfers for only $ 510 for a 3 days. The alternative might be to take public means to a near buy town and then get a cab at $100 a day without gas fuel to ferry you to the gorilla trek trail start and back to the hotel.

You need to report to the park registration office at 7:30am. So any method used, just make sure its reliable, in case you don’t turn up at the appointed t5ime you risk invalidating your gorilla tracking permit and having to pay again. Tracking time is very unpredictable and you may as well take the whole day. So have your accommodation booked for a night after the trek. For this same reason also have with you packed lunch for the day, water for drinking, the rain proof clothing and many more.

About planning your accommodation during your gorilla trek tour; In Uganda, the facilities you chose will depend on the gorilla permit you book being that the availability of the many gorilla families that the tourists visit in Bwindi Range over a wide area. For more details about accommodation, you will need to book for each different gorilla family in Bwindi.

Hiring the porters as well as walking sticks for the trek. The porters are hired at $15 each at the park offices and the walking sticks at $5. You shouldn’t over estimate your strength; you may certainly need either or both of these. So put it in high consideration to hire one. This is also another way of giving back to the community.

About mixing gorillas with wildlife safari. Uganda offers many tours you can enjoy onto your gorilla trek. You can choose to do these safari excursions before or after your trek. You can visit our website to view some of these packages.

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